Australia will decide whether buy more ageing Boeing Co. (BA) F-18 Super Hornet jets if U.S. defense cuts delay production of the latest Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Pentagon's costliest weapons program, said defense minister Stephen Smith."My primary concern on the F-35's is schedule," said Smith in an interview in his Canberra office on Tuesday. "In the course of next year, I am going to make a judgement about whether we need to do anything to guard against a capability gap."
Smith raised the issue of the F-35 with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in talks last month.
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